Unpredictable and rising energy costs have caused an increasing number of energy conservation methods to become economically feasible. The public is increasingly investing in energy conservation means in order to reduce their energy consumption and cost. Improvements in energy conservation methods permit even more energy savings by the public.
A substantial amount of energy is lost from the living spaces of residences to the attic. Insulation throughout the attic is commonly used to reduce this energy loss to the attic, except at the area of the attic stair door. Heat is transferred through the thin piece of wood covering the attic stairs opening and through the cracks formed between the attic stair door and the adjacent ceiling. In order to reduce the energy loss through the area of the attic stair opening, a movable insulating cover can be used.
One type of insulation cover for an attic stair opening is a one-piece, rigid cover. The problem with this type of cover is the cover's size causes inconvenient and expensive storage, shipping, stocking, and packaging.
Another type of insulating cover for the attic stairopening is a non-rigid cover which is generally not as effective at reducing energy loss as a rigid cover and is more difficult to properly position over the attic stair opening.
An additional problem with the available attic insulating covers is the lack of a fire retardant coating to protect against the hazards of fires.